Curling Up With A Book

Reading books has always been something I’ve loved ever since I was a little kid. I quickly moved away from picture books at a young age, preferring stories with more words and just a few illustrations that appeared like a little gift every now and then. During the summer months, you’d find me at the local library nearly every week, picking up new books to read and returning the ones I’d just finished. I was able to read extremely quickly, so books didn’t last very long. But their stories stayed with me, each one creating a new place to visit again and again in my mind. As I grew older, my love of books continued and my bookshelves began to fill up. Each book was like a little trophy that I’d won by completing it. In my mind, I would make a silent promise to read it again one day, but with so many new stories to peruse that’s rarely ever happened. But just seeing reading the spine of a book will bring back bits of story, time, and place of an adventure I once enjoyed. One day still, perhaps I’ll return there.

My childhood fascination with the library lead me to begin college as an English major. I specifically wanted to be a journalist at first, but realized my penchant for imagination was stronger than my love of facts. I wanted to invent places and characters, not simply describe what was in front of me. I took a creative writing course that was probably one of my favorite classes of all time. My instructor came up with really fun exercises that made me actually want to show up to class, and more importantly, write more. She gave us the assignment of writing a short allegory and in my enthusiasm, I went home and wrote the first eight chapters of a book. I choose a library as my theme in honor of my childhood days spent there. Next class, I asked her what I should do and she smiled and suggested I simply turn in one chapter for the assignment and that would suffice. I choose Chapter 7, but I’m not entirely sure why, and although it was a fun read, but no masterpiece, I ended up publishing it years later with the admittedly odd title of Miser Snoot And The Bibliomaniacs.

I didn’t provide the illustrations, as I hadn’t started drawing yet. That would come next, as I decided to switch majors and pursue a Studio Art degree instead, with an emphasis in computer animation. Still not traditional art or painting, but thankfully, I had to take a couple drawing classes, which I absolutely loved. But, I never drew anything after that, as my career took a very different turn. Reading was something that remained a constant, however, and it’s still the same today. Though I have far less time to read these days, I can still manage to devour a book every now and then. I still love getting lost in stories of people and places that seem vaguely familiar, yet totally new and unexpected. Great stories become things that we ourselves can adapt and feel like they’re part of our own lives. No matter how incredible the tale, there are always bits that make us feel like we’ve lived something quite similar once upon a time. For these reasons, and so many more I can’t describe right now, I’ll always love the relaxing thrill of curling up with a book.

My favorite hangouts are musty old book stores. All the better if they have a resident cat.
My crusade is to keep the printed book alive. Schools have begun to discard print books in favor of digital.
They are not even allowed to give the print books to kids who would love them. They cart them off to the
dumpster. This was done to make room for digital. Of course there are still print books to be had in the schools
but fewer and harder to get to. No digital media will ever give the same sensation as holding a print book in your
hand, particularly an old one.

Thanks so much!! 😃💕 I totally agree… there’s nothing to compare to a printed book. Such a wonderful experience. But if digital does take over, I simply hope that people will still continue to write wonderful, imaginative stories and not sound bites.

I so get your adventures and desires with books and reading! I was a misfit through most of my youth … books became my best friends. I love reading to this day and periodically I will have to stop the fast train of life and curl up with my favourites. I consider myself extremely blessed to have read a few books that made me homesick for places I’ve never been, nostalgic for things I’ve never done, and missing people I’ve never known. ❤️

Congratulations on being an author. Have you ever thought of writing another? I want to write a mystery, I had no idea I could write until my last year of university. I had changed from Carleton university to University of Victoria and they didn’t accept the course in english 101 I’d already passed with good grades, who knows why. So, I found myself in fourth year doing a first year english course. I had learned so much about writing from taking psychology and science courses. I had to learn to be accurate with third person plural or they wouldn’t accept your experiment write up. I passed the 101 with an A+ and realized I loved it. Then when I started my blog on art, I was even more surprised that I loved the writing of the blog too. Now all I have to do is find the TIME to learn to write a mystery. Oh, I just split my blog into separate parts. Instead of it being about art with book reviews on the side I went professional and now have another blog, NextBookInYourHand.com. In a month there’ll be an actual blog there! Hope to have you as a subscriber, I could use all the help I can get! It’s a little scary giving up all my stats to upgrade to wordpress. Wish me luck! (ps. I think you should write another one!)

You should totally write that mystery, Jennifer!! I KNOW you have it in you! 😃💕 And that’s so awesome that you’re taking the plunge with something new! And count me in as a subscriber… just send me a link when it’s up and running! And yes, one day I’ll write a proper new book, once I find a bit more time and muster the appropriate courage. 😊

Oh, well if you have courage to spread around I’ll send you my address, you can send it in an envelope! Yup, courage is what I need too. That and HOW to pry the main character out of my brain. LOL. I need a crowbar. I know I can do it, I just need time and courage too… and maybe a push off the proverbial cliff. ;o)

I love reading too and if we have to evacuate our beach residence for Hurricane Irma heading this way, I’ll be taking my kindle with five books loaded on it and my travel paints and paper. We have reservations 60 miles away in Orlando, but it may head there up the center of the state as well. We are hoping it heads east of us and stays way out at sea, and not just off our coast. We are staying set until each next tropical storm update but have gas in the car and a list of what to take with us. We have evacuated 7 times so we have it down to a science. We probably have 4 or 5 days until mandatory evacuation is imposed but we are starting to make lists and preparation.
Keep your fingers crossed for your Florida friends.

Oh wow, Kaye! Fingers crossed and sending you lots of love! But, as you said, you’re a pro by now, so I’m sure everything will work out. And yay to having books with you to enjoy along with paints and paper! Everything, will then be perfectly fine!! 😃💕

Aren’t books just marvellous? Your story reminds me of myself when I was young, I “lived” in my books. In my early 20s I was once sitting in a café, reading, when someone touched my arm and I got such a fright. He said I looked like I was absolutely detached from my surroundings, so deep in that book – and he was right. Never understood why he saw the need to get me out of this so ‘brutaly’.

College opens doors to our futures but thankfully does not limit us to those early choices. I majored in English, always planning to write books but became an art teacher for many years, a field I entered through the back door. Now here I am, an old lady, still writing books and trying to figure out the dastardly publication business. And still sometimes painting, always a passion.

Hehe… I’d add titles if I could ever figure out how to letter properly! 😉 And yay to still chasing after your passions! I don’t think there’s ever an age that we should stop pursuing what we love most. I have no clue on the publication business as it sounds frightful, so I just self-published to put something out there. Never stop writing and painting. The world needs what you’ll make next! 😃💕

The Amazon link to your book’s broken, mister! I MUST HAVE THIS THING.

Also, this is more proof we’re secretly related.

Also also, it was timely for me to read this today. My local library just had its semi annual book sale, and I have zero self-control. Zero. There is a bag of books (literal BAG. OF. BOOKS.) sitting next to me in silent testament to that fact.

Awww thanks for the heads up! At first I thought they finally took it down. Lol But it’s still there and link is fixed now. Hehe… it’s so old! And not amazing literature really. Hope to write a proper book one day when I can find the time. And yay!! A bag of books is the best thing in the world!!! 😃💕

Sounds like a good reason to goad her into the 21st century if I ever heard one. 😀 (My mom’s the same way. Cell phones are even still kind of a mystery to her. She turns hers off if she’s not calling someone, not understanding that then, people can’t call *her*. ::sigh:: Oh, mom.) 😀

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